The disclosure relates to a fixing clip of a lock pin-type and a curtain airbag fixing apparatus using the fixing clip. The curtain airbag may be called “CSA,” which is an abbreviation of Curtain Shield Airbag. A CSA fixing clip will be taken as an example of the fixing clip of a lock pin-type hereinafter.
JP-A-2011-255775 discloses a conventional fixing clip of a lock pin-type for fixing a CSA to a vehicle body, e.g., to an inner panel of a front pillar (an A-pillar, hereinafter). Further, JP-A-2010-144900 discloses another conventional CSA fixing clip which can be fixed to a vehicle body even by a relatively small load.
As illustrated in FIGS. 10 and 11, the CSA fixing clip 100 of JPA-2011-255775 includes a clip body 110 and a lock pin 150 which is a member separate from the clip body 110. The clip body 110 includes a body head 112 and a body leg 140. The clip body 110 includes a lock pin inserting hole 120 which is formed in the clip body 110 and is open to an outside at a body leg opposite-side end of the body head.
The lock pin 150 is inserted into the lock pin inserting hole 120 and is held by the clip body 110. The lock pin 150 is temporarily held by the clip body 110 at a temporary holding position PA where a pin head is positioned at an insertion position that is substantially midway into the lock pin inserting hole 120. The lock pin 150 is securely or finally held by the clip body 110 at a secure holding position PB where the pin head is fully inserted into the lock pin inserting hole 120.
At the temporary holding position PA, the head of the lock pin 150 protrudes outwards from the body head 112, and at the secure holding position PB, the lock pin 150 is positioned within the lock pin inserting hole 120. The lock pin inserting hole 120 is open not only in an axial and upward direction but also in lateral directions including a longitudinal direction L of the CSA and a direction P perpendicular to the longitudinal direction L of the CSA through grooves 124A and 124B formed at the body head 112.
The CSA fixing clip 100 and the CSA are fixed to a vehicle body as follows: Firstly, the body leg 140 of the clip body 110 temporarily holding the lock pin 150 is inserted through a hole formed at a tab of the CSA. Then, the clip body 110 is pinched by fingers and is pushed so that the leg 140 passes through the clip mounting aperture of the vehicle body. At that time, an engagement hook 142 of the body leg 140 is elastically deformed toward an axis of the clip body so that the engagement hook 142 can pass through the clip mounting aperture of the vehicle body. After having passed though the clip mounting aperture, the engagement hook 142 elastically returns to an original position so that the clip body 110 engages and is fixed to a clip mounting aperture-defining edge of the vehicle body.
Then, the lock pin 150 is moved relative to the clip body 110 from the temporary holding position PA to the secure holding position PB by pushing the lock pin 150 by a jig. When the lock pin 150 is positioned at the secure holding position PB, a lower end portion of a leg 154 of the lock pin 150 is located inside the engagement hook 142 and prevents the engagement hook 142 from being elastically deformed inward so that the clip body 100 is prevented from slipping out from the vehicle body. In this way, fixing of the clip 100 to the vehicle body and fixing of the CSA by the CSA fixing clip 100 are completed. Then, an A-pillar garnish is coupled to the A-pillar.
However, with the conventional CSA fixing clip 100, there are the following problems to be addressed:
When fixing the clip body 110 to the vehicle body, the lock pin 150 may happen to be erroneously pushed to move from the temporary holding position PA to the secure holding position PB or to a midway position between the temporary holding position PA and the secure holding position PB, before the leg 140 passes through the clip mounting aperture of the vehicle body. In addition, the lock pin 150 may happen to be pushed to the secure holding position PB due to the receipt of vibration or impact during transportation. When the lock pin happens to be erroneously pushed to the secure holding position PB before the leg 140 passes through the clip mounting aperture, the engagement hook 142 cannot be deformed inward and cannot pass through the clip mounting aperture so that the clip 100 cannot be mounted to the vehicle body.
The causes for such an erroneous insertion of the lock pin 150 are as follows: (i) When the lock pin 150 is positioned at the temporary holding position PA, the lock pin 150 protrudes upward more than the body head 112 of the clip body 110. As a result, the lock pin 150 can be easily touched with the jig or a finger.
(ii) Since the lock pin inserting hole 120 is open not only in the axial and upward direction but also in the lateral direction through the groove 124B, an opening of the clip body 110 is large. As a result, when the clip body 110 is pinched by fingers and a load for causing the clip body to pass through the clip mounting aperture is loaded on the clip body, the lock pin 150 is easily pushed by the fingers.
(iii) A load for inserting the lock pin 150 from the temporary holding position PA to the secure holding position PB is equal to or smaller than a load for causing the body leg 140 of the clip body to pass through the clip mounting aperture, i.e., an inserting load of the clip body. As a result, when the load for causing the body leg 140 of the clip body to pass through the clip mounting aperture is loaded on the clip body 110, if the jig or a finger touches the lock pin 150, the lock pin 150 will be easily moved from the temporary holding position PA to the secure holding position PB.